Chevron Says Richmond Crude Unit Offline Until End of December

Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Chevron Corp. said a fire-damaged
crude-processing unit a California refinery won’t resume
production before the end of the year as retail gasoline prices
surged to a record in the state.

The crude unit was knocked out of service during an August
blaze at the refinery near San Francisco. Chevron, based in San
Ramon, California, announced the extent of the closure in a
statement today.

The Richmond disruption was the first in a chain of events
that crippled Californian fuel markets and led to gasoline
shortages that have forced some filling stations to shut and
others to raise prices close to $5 a gallon. Governor Jerry
Brown this week ordered regulators to ease pollution rules to
speed delivery of fuel supplies.

Regular gasoline at the pump climbed to an all-time peak of
$4.671 a gallon, according to data published today by AAA, the
nation’s largest motoring organization. That’s up from the
previous record of $4.668 reported at the same time yesterday.
Prices jumped 50 cents last week as refineries reduced output
and Chevron shut a crude pipeline because of contamination.